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In a changing world with old ways of doing things no longer needed, but sentimental values important, what would be the best way to approach the future? Pennies are a thing of the past and hinder the prosperous future America could have. It is true pennies have patriotic and sentimental value in many American lives. However, the world is changing tremendously and most of the sentimental and patriotic value of the penny ends up in jars and sock drawers in many American homes. Because of the changing times pennies have become a hindrance to growth, investment, and convenience in America’s future so they should be eliminated.
First of all, the changing times, increasing technology, and national growth are becoming very apparent, but the penny
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has little part in these changes. America is truly not the same as it was fifty years or even ten years ago and depending on what we invest on now can be for the good of the nation. This is shown through the changing technology: “…as the old penny meters wear out, they are being replaced with digital machines that accept only nickels, dimes and quarters” (ABC News). Our way of life is not the same and this can be a wonderful thing. with out a doubt we see advancements in medicine and technology that are accomplishing great things in the world we choose to invest in growth by the steps we take. As we continue to look at todays economy and the effect of the penny: “The national mint makes 13 billion pennies a year. And one government report claims they cost more to produce and distribute than they are actually worth” (ABC News). Investing in something that will be worth in later times is key to succeeding in the future. When a business continues investing in investments that keep losing, the business will one day file bankruptcy. In the past years pennies may have been highly used, but in todays day and age its need in the market is greatly diminishing. Secondly, the penny hinders investment and prosperity due to its cost. The penny cost more then what it really is worth in the market. Chris Isidore makes this very clear in stating, “The main argument against the penny is that it wastes our time," he said. "We're clearly losing money on the penny” (Isidore). Saving small amount of time and money may seem worthless now, but it takes small steps toward greatness and prosperity. The small steps a government does to save will end us saving billions. From other examples in the world we see positive change in the economy. For example: “Besides Canada's example, other countries have dropped their lowest denomination coins without problem”( Isidore). These nations are positive examples to the success of eliminating the penny. Through the examples and statistics of what the penny does to the economy, eliminating the penny will be best for America. Lastly, despite its sentimental values the penny plays little part in convenience and growth in the changing world.
Pennies worth in the peoples eyes, even if they might not realize it, has been diminished greatly. Although many people are not willing to admit it, “The majority of pennies don't circulate,'' said Philip N. Diehl, director of the mint. ''They make a one-way trip from us to penny jars, sock drawers, piggy banks and the spaces between couch cushions. Two-thirds of the pennies produced in the last 30 years have dropped out of circulation” (John Tierney). Due to the growing economy and market the with of the penny has become more and more impractical in our daily life. People talk about the “Good old days”, and how grand life was in their younger years. However things are doubtlessly changing, “You can't use it in a phone," Kolbe said. "You can't use it in a parking meter. You can't use it in a gumball machine” (ABC News). People might say they are needed based on the past involvement in the economy, but the truth is they have lost their value and worth for the American future. Looking at the growing economy it takes looking at a situation logically and continuing the penny is clearly not a logical investment despite sentimental
values. In conclusion, because of the changing times pennies have become a hindrance to growth, investment, and convenience in America’s future so they should be eliminated. As a nation, looking for the best ways to grow and prosper is key. As we look around at our changing world we see the need for the penny is indeed changing as well. Today, The penny has become a hindrance todays growth in technology and valuable time in America. Sentimental value, In this great nation, to many things is still very apparent, but if these values impede growth and prosperity the nation will go down. We should eliminate the hinderance: the penny.
Between 2001 and 2006, there has been an increase of.6 cents for the reproduction of the penny. This increase displays economic problems that may lead to fatal ones. The penny is composed of 2% copper and 98% zinc. These elements are exponentially in demand, causing the price of these materials to skyrocket. Many Americans think the penny is putting our country in jeopardy with financial losses.
Throughout the past decade, costs of everything have skyrocketed. According to Source C, America used to have “five and dime stores;” now its a dollar store. In addition, no one can buy anything with just a penny anymore. The source also made a fair observation that these worthless zinc disks are, “behind chair cushions or at the back of sock drawers next to your old tin-foil ball. Quarters and dimes circulated; pennies disappear because they are literally more trouble than they are worth.” According to a New York Times article, “it takes nearly a dime today to buy what a penny bought back in 1950.” The penny is still stuck in the 1950s while America just keeps moving on. As stated by Mark Lewis in his concept of establishing a bill, “the bill would not ban pennies, but merely discourage their use by establishing a system under which cash transactions would be rounded up or down.” (Source A) This motive will help keep the America exceed and
In America’s modern day economy, the penny is very useless and irrelevant in our society today. As source C states, “The time has come to abolish the outdated, almost worthless, bothersome, and wasteful penny.” There is not one item that can be purchased with a penny anymore (Source C). As source C states, “it takes nearly a dime to buy what a penny bought back in 1950.” Stores such as the Dollar Store prove how the cheapest items you can purchase are with only a dollar, not a cent. Pennies are shoved out of the economic picture by credit cards and because of the modern-day technology, there are even self-service machines that help convert coins into paper money (Source B). Furthermore, pennies are easily tossed into piggy banks or appear behind chair cushions. It is not used the same way as it was before.
Do we really need pennies? The story of the penny starts in 1792; it came with several different coins including the dime, nickel, quarter, and half penny. The pennies were first made out of 100% copper, but the price of the copper went up, because of inflation, the power of the penny went down. The cause of the mint is to reduce the amount of copper in pennies first from 100% to 95% but then to 5% copper and 95% zinc. Despite the debate in 2006, the value of metal on older pennies rose over one year.
Additionally, think about the amount of people that would be fired if the penny industry were to be eliminated. This might be the only job that can support their family.
Have a good look at the penny, what do you see? You probably see nothing but a copper coated circular poor valued cent. Little does everyone know pennies have been around longer than before their grandparents, even their great-grandparents! Matter of fact, it was around so long ago that Abraham Lincoln’s face was not the first design on the penny. I ask that you take the time to consider the American penny’s worth. Without the people’s belief in its value, the penny will be abolished. I see people every day throwing away a penny rather than to put it in their pocket and save it for future uses. Yes a penny is "outdated, almost worthless, bothersome and wasteful" (Safire) piece of junk, but it's has an economic, cultural, and historical significance to the United States of America. The problem is that nobody pays attention to that, and that gives pennies the image of no value. Three good solutions to show the pennies worth include: tolls and vending machines accepting the coin, more charities to keep their penny drives, and historical evidence of what the penny mean to America so that it can be passed on to the future generations.
The Penny is a wonderful coin. It might only be worth one cent but that one cent can help people in all sought's of situations. The penny should kept in circulation. There are many people that use the penny still in today’s society.
Millions of Americans work full-time, day in and day out, making near and sometimes just minimum wage. In 1998, Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them in part by the welfare claim, which promises that any job equals a better life. Barbara wondered how anyone can survive, let alone prosper, on $6-$7 an hour. Barbara moved from Florida to Maine to Minnesota, working in the cheapest lodgings available and accepting work as a waitress, hotel maid, house cleaner, nursing home aide, and Wal-Mart salesperson. She soon realizes that even the lowliest occupations require exhausting mental and physical efforts and in most cases more than one job was needed to make ends meet. Nickel and Dimed reveals low-wage America in all of its glory, consisting of
Even though members of Congress are trying to ban to penny, Americans can spare the time to use them. In Ric Kahn’s
There is a side to this debate where the penny could win and stay in circulation. To start, the penny has been around for years and years and it has seemed to work for this whole time. This is true, the penny has been around and can be used still in everyday life. The turn side of this, though valid, is with systems changing is is becoming more and more rare for the penny to have a true dire need. One other strong reason to keep the penny alive would be charity. Charity relies on those people who do not necessarily care enough to keep the pennies t drop them off in the donation box. That though, has a simple solution. If the penny were no longer around nickels and dimes would begin to be the change customers and users are no longer wanting. Charity then in result
Many of Americans view the every day penny as only one cent that carries only little to no value, which is why they wind-up stashed away at the back of drawers. What most people don’t have a clue is the value it once held back in the days where a can of coke was about one cent. Our very own citizens who once fought battles and came home scarred knew that the penny wasn’t just one cent, it was the blood shed, their fallen brothers, and the never ending tears that symbolized one single Lincoln. Pennies are worth more than their currency, they are the history of our home and the beginning of where we stand today.
The penny has been in America for centuries, it's a sentimental object for Americans everywhere. However many have debated on whether or not it should be eliminated or continue being made. The penny should be preserved because it is apart of American culture, given to charity, and keeps items cheap.
A buyer brings along with him snacks that he would like to purchase in a dollar store: chocolate chip cookies, a Pepsi, gummy bears, and a bag of chips. He waits in line, eager to consume this huge delight. It is his turn, and he hurriedly placed his treats on the counter, waiting anxiously to pay immediately. The cashier replies to him, “The price will be $5.99, sir.” The buyer takes out five one-dollar bills and four quarters. Not an instance did he ever use a penny in this case, which he thought was useless and meaningless. As you can see, the penny has become quite worthless and diminished in purpose. Many citizens would prefer to round up and pay rather than spend time and look in their
Some people say, “Getting rid of the penny could cause a one-time inflation burst…” But, François Velde, an expert on the history of small change and a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago who is working this year at the Bank of France states, “But in a competitive market,
In source C William Safire says many things, including “Two thirds of them immediately drop out of circulation”(Safire) He also states that America is “among the last of the industrialized nations to abolish the peskiest little bits of coinage”(Safire) While these both sound like decent arguments, they’re both untrue. Weller says “Mr.Safire’s inaccuracies about the penny circulation and other countries use of low denomination coins must be corrected.”(Weller) He starts by countering the claim that we’re among the last industrialized country to rid of our lower denomination coin. Weller says “In the major industrialized countries, including Great Britain, Canada, Japan, and the U.S and Europe, the penny/ penny equivalent remains in production”(Weller) He then moves on to say “Two thirds of the pennies do not “immediately” drop out of circulation”(Weller) he says only about 5.6% drop out. The media has very, partisan views most of the time, so while Weller is in an interest group, I’ll give him the benefit of the